Life on Autopilot A Guide to Living with Depersonalization Disorder

"This book sets out to address DPD issues. Getting my head around the science behind the disorder has been very important for me - a basic understanding of what's going on in my head has taken away some of the mystery factor and made the horrible sensations that tiny bit more bearable to live with. I'm going to be speaking with leading experts from around the world to help explain what DPD is from a clinical standpoint, and how it's treated. But in addition to the medical nitty-gritty, I have over a decade's real-world experience of living with DPD and dealing with everything that's come along with it. From the early years of it being the head thing to discovering the condition for the first time; navigating the health services and fighting to get to where I know I need to be; having friends tell me they want nothing more to do with me because of my problems; trying to describe what depersonalization feels like to my family in vague metaphors; having romantic relationships implode; pushing to stay productive and motivated despite everything feeling meaningless; working jobs; not working jobs; and adjusting my core beliefs on what constitutes 'success' in this world. None of it has been easy - and absolutely still isn't - but those are all problems that'll ring true for any fellow sufferer. I hope this book might help us all feel less alone than I have until recently"--